


Drunken laughter (friends always have your back even if they don't want to)

by dispatch



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, and also possibly sakuino if you don't really squint, but she could also just be a very emotionally volatile drunk, inner sakura makes a very brief appearance, this is definetly pre ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 15:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8291092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dispatch/pseuds/dispatch
Summary: “There’s food carts that way,” Shikamaru waves down the road and away from his home. “Some of them may even be open.”“We tried them,” Ino tells him. “They kicked us out when we broke the booth in half.”“I didn’t break it!” Sakura protests.“I broke the booth in half,” Ino admits with a shrug.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be purely platonic, but it got all hinty. I have a huge randomized character and prompt list that I'm trying to finish a bunch of short things for. (short is the key word that I fail at spectacularly. Three of them are now over 10 k and I have no idea if I will ever finish them cause there is no end) This one is 'finished' and I felt like I should post at least one of the fills.
> 
> I'm not really sure if I like this? It was written with a vague idea of just being about Shikamaru being a good reliable friend and also a day in the life of sort of thing. Did I even hit it or is this just word vomit? Who knows. But it is finished even if I never proof read anything.

“It’s three in the morning,” Shikamaru tells the two giggling girls underneath his window.

“Shikamaru!” Ino says loudly, ignoring what he said and falling into Sakura. “We want udon,” she whines.

“Yeah, Shikamaru. Get us some udon,” Sakura giggles and looks at him from underneath her friend. He hasn’t seen her in two months since she went to the Land of Iron for a mission. Only found out she was back when he was leafing through the reports that morning. She looks good, he thinks. Drunk, but good as she grins up at him bright and happy. 

Ino looks the same as she did yesterday, probably worse in his opinion, but he knows that maybe because its three in the morning and she woke him up by throwing rocks through his window. Shikamaru rubs the back of his neck and sighs. The wooden frame of the window digs into his shoulder where he’s using it to keep himself mostly upright.

“There’s food carts that way,” Shikamaru waves down the road and away from his home. “Some of them may even be open.”

“We tried them,” Ino tells him. “They kicked us out when we broke the booth in half.”

“I didn’t break it!” Sakura protests.

“I broke the booth in half,” Ino admits with a shrug.

“Right,” Shikamaru groaned, dropping his head against the panel with a dull thunk. He was going to be hearing about that tomorrow. Kami, it was too early for this. “Well,” Shikamaru pushes himself upright. Nothing to do about that now. “Good night,” He slides the window shut.

“What-“ Sakura yelps. Shikamaru jumps back as her fist comes flying through the frame. She pushes it open and snarls at him, “Oh, no, you do not run.” Shikamaru leans back and looks between Ino who seems unfazed by the sudden violence and the pink haired girl who is now blinking at him as if mildly confused.

“Yeah,” Ino sways as she stands up. Dusting off her leggings. “What she said.”

“I think you guys need to get home,” Shikamaru offers warily. Sakura climbs through the window and is grinning at him again. Just as happy as she was minutes before.

“Right,” Sakura nods. Ino grabs onto Sakura’s arm and uses it to pull herself through the broken frame. “But first, noodles.”

“I don’t have any noodles,” Shikamaru tells them.

“Always complaining, Shikamaru,” Sakura lets her friend drag her across the room, “Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?”

“Choji would have noodles,” Ino argues.

“Then go to Choji,” Shikamaru sighs.

“I tried,” Ino whines as she drops onto the couch, “Sakura wanted to come here.”

“Ino,” Sakura growls. Her cheeks pink, she doesn’t even look at him as she scowls at her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Ino waves her off, yanking her down beside her.

They both seem content to lay there sprawled across his couch. Ino giggling something about pools and fire. It is normal for Ino to act like her teammates homes are hers, but he doesn’t think Sakura’s even been to his place since he moved in over a year ago.

It is different enough, almost distracting even. Shikamaru doesn’t know how he feels about it, not that he seems to have a choice. Sakura starts to wail about noodles, Ino joining in. They sound like ghosts howling. The kind of monster story his grandmother used to tell him about as a kid to keep him from taking a nap in the woods. He wonders if his civilian neighbors can hear them. If they are even awake, though how they can sleep through the racket would surprise him, but old man Tanka slept through Naruto being Naruto last week so maybe they haven’t even noticed.

Sakura is shrieking and Ino is cackling as he wanders into the kitchen. Shuffles through his cabinets wondering if he even has anything. He doesn’t eat at home often and it shows. He has condiments and rice that he is too tired to cook. He also has leftover crackers that his mom keeps giving him every time she has a family gathering and maybe any carbs at all would probably get them to stop. 

He places the crackers in front of the girls and they grab it. Inhaling it in between their chatter. Shikamaru drops on the other end of the couch. Tipping his head back, he stares at the smooth off-white ceiling, eyes heavy. He should paint it, maybe. Except he knows he would never get the energy to actually do it. But it would be nice to have some color in here. Pink hair bobs out of the corner of his eye. The laughter is easy to ignore, almost like white noise. A comfortable background noise that is soothing and trusted.

He doesn’t remember closing his eyes.

He wakes to a warm weight pressed into his side. Sakura’s head is laying on his shoulder. Ino draped along her back, arm thrown over the both of them in a loose hug. The light in the window says he should be up. He is already late for this morning’s debriefing.

He doesn’t want to move.

Some minutes later Ino starts to flinch. Curling into a ball and grabbing her head, she moans nonsense and Shikamaru laughs softly.

“Alright, alright,” He slowly edges out from under them, except that wakes Sakura who grips his arm and tries to bury herself in his shirt, “Let me get you some water.” He manages to roll off the couch to a chorus of sad and pathetic groans. “You two deserve this.”


End file.
